[Tut] Softsubs on the iPhone (Mkv to iPhone)

[Lemur]

Softsubs on the iPhone and iPod Touch
Converting Mkv to m4v without the pain.

For me, and I suspect a few others, my iPhone has become the center of my Otaku ways. With its ability to connect to a TV through the universal dock, its clear screen, and its large capacity it's very near the perfect device for anime. However, it has one issue- Namely its restrictions on video formats. For formats like .avi or .wmv, its not that hard to convert. When it comes to the ever popular .mkv, it's another matter entirely. You can convert it to .mp4 at a normal speed, but you lose the subs. You can keep the subs by turning them into hardsubs through Quicktime-Perian encoding or something similar, but the conversion times are so slow that its impractical for anything more then one or two episodes.

So we come to the big secret- The iPhone can play softsubs, making mkv conversions a breeze.

So, lets start at the beginning:

The Programs
To start this, you are going to need a few programs.

A Converter
If you're looking at this tutorial, chances are good you already have one. Just a basic converter that can convert to .mp4. The only thing you need to make sure is it can handle plain .mkv conversions (AKA: Conversion that will lose the subs; creating a Raw, unsubbed MP4). I use Visualhub, but any program will work.

A Subtitle Extractor
Mac: MKVtools
PC: MKVExtract

Subtitle Cleaner (Optional)
Mac: SubCleaner
PC: I couldn't find anything similar on Windows, but a Subtitle Cleaner isn't vital.

MP4 Muxer
Mac: Subler
PC: Yamb

Quick Guide
Step 1: Convert the MKV to raw .MP4
Step 2: Extract the UTF8 subtitle file from the MKV (.srt)
Step 3 (optional): Clean up the .srt
Step 4: Merge (Mux) the .mp4 and the .srt together

Detailed Guide
Step 1: Download the listed files.
Step 2: Install the programs
Step 3: Convert your Mkv to raw, unsubbed MP4. Do not delete the original MKV. It should run as fast as other conversions. (If it runs slowly, then chances are good your conversion program is attempting to keep the subs and create hardsubs. If this is the case, you will likely need a new converter)
Step 4: Open Your extractor
Step 5: Select the MLV
Step 6: Select the Subtitle track you want to use (UTF8)
Step 7: Extract it

Step 8 (Optional): Open SubCleaner
Step 9 (Optional): Drag the .srt (the subtitle file) into SubCleaner to clean it.
Step 10: Open your Muxing program
Step 11: Click the plus and add your converted raw mp4, and then click the plus again and add your .srt
Step 12: Save it as a MPEG4 Video (.m4v) (If its a series, make sure to include the episode number in the title or you will hate yourself later)

Steps 13 & 14: Add the saved file to iTunes and sync it over to your iPhone. Congratulations, your done!


Using the Softsubs
To use the softsubs, play the video you want to watch. Then tap the languages options that will appear next to rewind on a video with softsubs. Select your subs. Then tap 'done'.


Congratulations, you are now watching Softsubs on your iPod touch/iPhone. Feel free to post any questions.

[Lan]

I will totally have to give this a go when I find some new shows to put on my itouch. I've done the hard sub thing and the conversion time sucks! It would take up to 2-3 hours for a show of a decent quality...

[bobjoe]

Is this for real?
I have tried doing it exactly as you say (on windows, though), but I can't seem to get the subtitles to show up. What did you have to do to get that little languages button to show up?

Were your files named .mp4 or .m4v? Do you think that makes a difference? Could you send me a test file that works for you so I can see if it will work on my iPod Touch?

[Lemur]

Never tested it on windows, to be honest. Are you encountering any errors or such? Ill send you a test file, tell me if you find a solution on the windows side.

(PS: Files were .m4v, but it shouldn't matter.)

Edit: Problem Resolved. His subtitle file was acting as a .txt, if you encounter this problem too, just change the TXT to Srt.

[LittlePetite]

It was going good so far until I got to the extracting subtitle part...
The mkv file I have doesn't have a UTF8 sub track.
The only one is the ASS one.
Help?

btw. I'm a Windows user. Dunno if that helps.

[Lemur]

Hey. Rare for a MKV to be ASS only. Anyway,

Download

Just drop a mkv-file (damaged MKV & ASS/SSA also accepted) into DSRT.
Alt+Shift+I - Convert ASS to SRT
Ctrl+F7 - remove overlaps and other errors

Is a solution I have found. Tell me if that works, please.

[Freezze]

I tried all the methods mentioned above (including the .ass file to .srt file) and I tried using vlc to play the file, it works fine. But on the ipod touch itself, there is no language or any option for me to select. Is it becos the file format is .mp4?

Btw I'm using windows. Thanks!

[Lemur]

Kk. It sounds like the issue is a lack of embedded subs entirely, instead of an issue with filetypes. Can you detail the exact steps used?

As basic troubleshooting, I would suspect for now the main issue is in the subtitles themselves. Try converting them with another program and muxing, not converting and then muxing, cleaning them and muxing or trying another file to see if its a problem with a specific file.

[LOZLINK]

This totally did not work out for me. I didn't have to extract the srt because the subbers already released the scripts in .ASS format, so i just changed it like you said how to earlier. When i play the file after muxing in MPC or VLC, it works fine. When i play it with Itunes, no subs show up. The format of the video is mpeg-4. The crappy windows muxing program doesn't allow you to change it to .m4v. Any way to solve this?

[Lemur]

Does it play in iTunes, and does it have subtitles in iTunes? Same question for quicktime.